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Experienced in the Word of God: Translator spreads 'heart language' in Ethiopia

Mariyam Yohannis sat on a bench under a gazebo at Lake Ella four years ago. It was August of 2015, and she was soon to be on her way — on a mission she had dreamed about for years. She was as idealistic as a young woman with a yearning for missionary work could be. Still, she would be stepping up to a challenge.

Born in Ethiopia, Yohannis had come to the United States with her Lutheran parents when in junior high school. Now, nearly 15 years later, she was accepting a position with Wycliffe Bible Translators, a nondenominational organization that hopes to translate the Bible into every one of over 7,000 individual languages on the planet.

Answering questions from the Scripture with Kefita and Kaytale at OBS training.(Photo: Mariyam Yohannis)

For Yohannis, the job was “the total package—a combination of linguistics, Bible studies, outreach, and the ability to bring her own devotion to the Word of God to people who had no way to read it in a language of their own.

Founded by William Cameron Townsend in 1942, the organization is named after John Wycliffe who, with others, in 1382-1395 translated the Bible into “Middle English.” At the time, English was the vernacular language of the people which could be read (by those who at the time could read) without having to know Latin or Greek.

Suri Truly Fruitful in Mizan Teferi, Ethiopia. These are young church leaders.(Photo: Mariyam Yohannis)

It became the goal of both Wycliffe and much later, Townsend, to bring such immediacy of understanding to everyone of every nation. Today, Wycliffe Bible Translators say 3,300 languages have been translated, leaving another 4,000 obscure languages and dialects to go.

For the devoted student of both the Bible and languages, Yohannis’ assignment was perfect. Though she would need to visit many churches, organizations, and solicit private individuals for the financial support of her mission, the graduate of Minnesota’s Northwestern University and Biola University’s linguistics program in California was eager to launch herself into the translation of a variety of languages spoken by tribes from the north to the south of Ethiopia.

With over 87 languages spoken in the country and the use of scripts that fall between Amharic, Saba Fidel, and our own Latin, the challenges of translating Scripture into a language that can be read and shared by many are daunting.

Drama about the importance of reading the Scripture with Simret and Marit at Mekane Yesus Church in Gilgel Beles.(Photo: Mariyan Yohannis)

Over the last four years, Yohannis has not only fulfilled her goals of translating, but expanded her mission to include even more interactions with the peoples of the country. “I worked with the Hamer people and the Borana people, and with what is called, “Truly Fruitful,” a program that goes into villages and in their own oral tradition, tells Bible stories that the leaders can then take back and introduce to their own people. We also love to use music to bring the Word of God.”

Spending one or two weeks among the various ethnic groups, Yohannis says the villagers are eager to learn, eager to share, and even have begun to compose songs about Bible stories in their own rhythms and on their instruments.

Fetching water from a well for washing clothes.(Photo: Mariyam Yohannis)

Now, back in the States for four months, Mariyam Yohannis will travel to Washington state, California and Texas to thank her supporters and sponsors for their investment in the mission to which she has devoted her life.

When asked how the last four years have changed her, now obviously a confident woman who has experienced the joy of mission work as well as it’s challenges, Yohannis remains as full of enthusiasm as she was four years ago on a bench at Lake Ella. “I believe I can see the heart of God in people, all people,” she says. And though she admits to being more confident, she says, “These years have taught me to be humble and to be patient.”

As she offers a global thanks, Mariyam Yohannis reminds everyone of the goal she seeks. “Nelson Mandela said that God loves us all, and wishes to speak to each of us in our heart language. That is what I hope to do—provide that language to people, their ‘heart language,’ so that they may hear the Word of God.”